On 12-20 July, a NATO Forward Integration Team (NFIT) from Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum (the Kingdom of the Netherlands) is visiting military units, ranges, and facilities in Lithuania, the Ministry of National Defence announces.

The information obtained and situational awareness will help JFC Brunssum strengthen integration and interoperability between Lithuania and NATO allies which are crucial in supporting exercises or for assurance measures in the Baltic States

Alongside other scheduled visits the NFIT will go to the headquarters of the Joint Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Air Force and Navy, and the Air Force Base in Điauliai where the forces completing NATO's air policing mission are deployed.

The information JFC Brunssum will have obtained through observation and meetings with representatives of the National Defence System will be transferred to NATO's leadership. That will enhance interoperability among allies, efficiency of planning and completion of military exercises, and assurance measures in the Baltic States.

Visits by a NATO delegation of such format have already been conducted in Slovakia, and also in Latvia during Exercise Saber Strike 2014 last month. Visits by NFIT experts to allied countries is an efficient way of enhancing collective defence capabilities and ensuring NATO response to threats on short notice to the end of ensuring defence of Alliance borders.

The Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum is an operational command of the Alliance in charge of planning and leading all joint NATO operations.